


Hyponatremia

by Hale13



Series: Whump Bingo 2020 [22]
Category: Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Gen, Hallucinations, Human Disaster Peter Parker, Irondad, May Parker (Spider-Man) & Tony Stark Coparenting Peter Parker, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker Whump, Peter Parker is a Mess, Sick Peter Parker, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Whump, Whump Bingo, Whumptober
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-23
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:00:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27158992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hale13/pseuds/Hale13
Summary: It had been a really hot summer even with the A/C in his suit and the fancy window unit Tony had installed in his bedroom.  Peter attributed the heat to his general unease around May’s friends and the random dog in his kitchen.Now featuring even more obscure medical conditions!(For Bingo space O2 – Making excuses to linger because they don’t want to be alone.)
Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: Whump Bingo 2020 [22]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1943986
Comments: 14
Kudos: 145





	Hyponatremia

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry this one is a day late - its been a wild week.
> 
> Everything below is medically accurate and can actually happen. Enjoy what is probably one of the weirdest things you will read about today!
> 
> Thanks to an Anonymous commenter who requested this - it got way out of control but I hope that you enjoy it anyway!

It was the dog that gave it away.

Peter woke up on that fateful Friday morning feel just as shitty as he had been for the past few days; his head was pounding, he was exhausted and he had woken up multiple times overnight with the worst charley horse cramps in his calves and biceps. Since it was summer he had been spending a lot more time out and about swinging through New York as Spider-Man and, even with the A/C in his suit, the record high temperatures had been getting to him.

With a groan Peter pulled himself up to sit on the edge of his bed and paused for a moment as a wave of exhaustion overcame him and he had to steady himself as the room swayed in his vision. Maybe he should just stay in bed? The fierce rumble in his stomach vetoed that idea and Peter, reluctantly, pulled himself up and stumbled across the room to his door.

What he wasn’t expecting were the three people (two women and a man) standing in his kitchen laughing as they whisked eggs and flipped pancakes.

Peter blinked in surprise and closed his door, standing in his cool, dark room with his hand on the knob. He didn’t think any of them had noticed him. His heart rate sped up and he had to focus on not warping the door knob in his grip. He could hear the shower running and May’s tuneless humming from down the hall before the water cut off and relaxed a little. May took notoriously quick showers on the mornings when she had to work, she had to know the people in the kitchen. Maybe they were her co-workers and she had let them in before taking a shower and they had wanted to make her breakfast?

Whatever the case, Peter relaxed microscopically. The people in the kitchen were safe – they hadn’t set off his Spidey sense. May surely had let them in. With that thought in mind, Peter grabbed a pair of shorts from his clean laundry pile and slipped them on, electing to not change the Stark Industries t-shirt he had slept in the night previous, before opening up the door and entering the living room.

“Hello,” Peter greeted lightly when the people didn’t seem to notice him. He paused for a moment for acknowledgement but none of them turned to look at him and he huffed a breath. Since when did May have such rude friends? “Uh… I’m just gonna…” he muttered, slipping away from the kitchen and further into the living room before collapsing onto the sofa. He used one hand to forcefully rub his eyes, causing him to see stars, before dropping his head onto the back of the couch with an exhausted sigh.

Which was echoed next to him.

Peter jerked upright and threw himself against the arm of the couch with enhanced speed and then gulped, glancing over to the kitchen – no one seemed to have noticed as they carried on talking jovially and ribbing each other. Safe on that front Peter turned to look at the other end of the couch.

A large red and black German Shepherd stared back at him from its curled up position, nose tucked under its tail and head cocked to the side a little curiously. “Hey buddy,” Peter said, holding out a fist for the dog to sniff. It blinked at him with large black eyes that seemed to peer through his shoulders and he pulled his hand back. “Hey, uh,” Peter said, making no sudden movements that might spook the dog, “is, uh… is he friendly?”

Again Peter was ignored. He was starting to get a little pissed off now actually, how dare these strangers come into their home and flat out ignore him? He carefully stood from the couch, keeping a wary eye on the unblinking dog, and walked down the hall to May’s room. The door was cracked and he could hear the staticky sound of the busted radio he had repaired a few weeks ago playing classic rock that May hummed along to as she got ready. Peter knocked on the door frame and waited for May’s permission before slipping into the room and closing the door behind him. May gave him a questioning look as she laced up her shoes – he didn’t normally close the door like this.

“Who are your friends?” Peter asked, plopping down to sit cross-legged on the end of May’s bed and trying to school his expression into something non-passive aggressive. Or just flat out aggressive, he was feeling just a little touchy this morning.

“Who?” May asked, eyebrow cocked up as she started loading up the pockets of her scrubs with pens and sundry, not paying much attention as she tied her damp hair into a messy bun on top of her head.

“Your friends,” Peter repeated, letting distaste slip into his voice. “The ones in the kitchen.” May made eye contact in the mirror and her face paled but Peter kept on. “And who’s dog is that? I’m pretty sure it wanted to rip my throat out. With its teeth.”

“Dog?” May said, now looking a little alarmed as she whipped around, her hair half in a ponytail and abandoned.

“Yeah,” Peter said, a little confused. “The German Shepherd?”

“Did you hit your head yesterday honey?” May asked, sitting gently on the bed next to Peter, gently running careful fingers through his messy curls. Peter pulled his head away too fast and regretted it, having to physically stick himself to the bed to prevent himself from falling off.

“Of course not,” Peter replied, indignant. And he hadn’t. He and May had a deal that he had to tell her about every injury or they would be renegotiating his Spidering privileges. He had yet to break that promise and he didnn’t plan on it.

“What are the people in the kitchen doing?” May asked carefully and Peter looked at her nose scrunching in confusion. Couldn’t she smell the pancakes and bacon?

“Cooking breakfast?” Peter answered, a question. “I thought it was just some of your co-workers being nice? But they wouldn’t even look at me when I talked to them – it was like I didn’t exist.”

“Rude of them,” May said carefully, her tone giving nothing away. “Wait here Pete, I’m going to go talk to them and clear them out. They aren’t welcomed here if they’re disrespecting you.”

“Wait,” Peter said, heart rate skyrocketing as May went to stand. He felt uncomfortable being alone now that he was with May. His brain told him it was childish but he continued anyway. “It’s fine May, I was probably just too quiet for them to hear me.”

“Peter,” May said, voice straining.

“No really and uh…” Peter continued, reaching out to grip May’s hand, “they made us breakfast right? It would be rude for me not to go out and at least thank them.”

“It’ll be okay Petey,” May told him, loosening his death grip on her hand and running her palm across his forehead down to rest on his cheek. She gave him a quick peck on the forehead and a smile. “Just wait right here okay?”

Peter nodded as she stood up and watched her slip out the door, closing it behind her. He could hear May’s near silent steps into the kitchen and low mumbling followed by the sound of the front door opening and closing. Peter felt a little guilty – he hoped he didn’t ruin some of May’s friendships.

“They’re gone,” May told him from the doorway, slipping her cell into her scrub pocket.

“They weren’t upset right?” Peter asked, wringing his hands nervously and refusing to make eye contact with his aunt.

“Of course not honey!” May said, coming over to stand in front of him and offer her hand to help him up. “Oh, Tony just texted by the way.” May told him in a diplomatic voice as she led him out of her room and into him, blocking his view of the kitchen and living room. “He’s sending Happy over to pick us up, he said he had something to show us.”

Peter furrowed his brow but leaned down to slip on his own shoes as May leaned against his open door frame. “Won’t you be late for work?”

“Nope,” May answered with a tight smile. “My shift doesn’t start for three more hours so I have plenty of time.”

“Okay…” Peter trailed off, fingers knotted in his laces. He looked at them in confusion; hadn’t he tied them already?

“Let me,” May said, kneeling down and deftly tying his worn out Vans for him. “You look tired sweetie,” she said once she was done, resting the palm of her hand against his cheek. Peter leaned into it and let his eyes flutter closed.

“Didn’t sleep well,” he mumbled, allowing May to sit next to him and pull his head down to rest in her lap, her fingers again running through his hair.

“Nightmares?” May asked, her voice soft and gentle and lulling Peter to sleep.

“Muscle cramps,” Peter told her, half asleep.

May hummed, her hand moving down to massage his neck. “Why don’t you take a little nap honey? I’ll wake you up when Happy gets here.”

“‘Kay,” Peter rasped out, dozing off almost immediately. May kept up her ministrations with one hand and he could hear her texting with the other. Probably apologizing to her friends for her rude nephew, Peter thought guiltily. He wasn’t sure how long he was out before he felt May shake his shoulder gently.

“Time to get up Petey,” she said quietly and he roused with a groan and rolled over to face the room.

“Hey Happy,” he said groggily to the man standing in the doorway. He had no idea how Happy could wear a suit in this heat.

“Hey kid,” Happy said back, a glint in his eye as he surveyed Peter. “Burning the candle at both ends?”

“Just didn’t sleep well,” Peter said and he stood up, reaching a hand out to grab his bed frame to keep his bearings as the room spun. May looked at him worriedly and then shared a nervous glance with Happy.

“Well let’s get this show on the road then,” Happy said, leading both Parkers out of the bedroom and quickly through the living room, locking the door behind him. “Don’t want to keep Tony waiting.”

Peter never noticed that they blocked him from looking into the kitchen.

* * *

The drive to the compound took just over an hour on a good day which gave Peter the perfect chance to lean against May and nap. Happy had slid up the barrier to the front as soon as he got in the car, effectively sound-proofing himself. This stung a little since Happy had been a lot more friendly with Peter in recent months and he worried that Happy had somehow found out how rude Peter had been to May’s guests this morning and shrunk deeper into his seat.

He really hoped that he wasn’t going to see Mr. Stark just to get a lecture.

When they arrived at the compound a short time later, Happy stopped the car at the entrance instead of parking in the normal garage and Peter smiled excitedly since he figured out why pretty quickly – Tony was standing in front on the glass doors chatting with Dr. Banner.

“Dr. Banner,” Peter chirped excitedly as he jumped out of the car, pausing for a moment to get his bearings and stop the vertigo before bounding up the front steps to smile excitedly at his mentor and one of his science heroes. “I thought you would be in Wakanda the rest of the summer?”

“Hey Peter,” Dr. Banner smiled politely, looking just a tad nervous. “I’m back and forth right now. I’ll be heading back in a couple weeks but I knew that Dr. Cho was going to be in town in a few days and I promised to help her with some research on the regeneration cradle.”

“Cool,” Peter breathed out. Tony rolled his eyes good naturedly and clapped and arm around Peter in a one sided hug.

“Mind if I borrow your nephew for just a few minutes May?” Tony asked his aunt with a winning smile and a steady nod. “Bruce-bear and I want to show him the new lab.”

“Sure,” May agreed. “I’ll grab some coffee with Happy and meet up with you in a few minutes?”

“Sounds good,” Tony agreed, steering Peter inside the cool building and into an elevator. “Your going to love it Pete.” Mr. Stark said, not releasing Peter from him hold. The elevator stopped but the doors didn’t open, Mr. Stark moved to stand in front of him and Peter blinked in confusion. “You trust me kiddo?” Tony asked seriously, his AR glasses slipping down his nose a bit so he could make uninhibited eye contact with Peter.

“Of course,” Peter responded and it was true. He trusted Tony with his life.

“Okay,” Tony breathed out. “Close your eyes then.”

“What?” Peter asked, cocking his head to the side but not fighting when Tony stood behind him and covered Peter’s eyes with his own hands. The smell of motor oil that seemed to be ground into Tony’s skin seared Peter’s nostrils but relaxed him, it was comforting.

“Don’t want to ruin the surprise,” Tony told him and he felt Bruce shift a little uncomfortably next to him as the doors trundled open. “Bruce can you lead Pete in? I want him in the perfect spot when I remove my hands.”

“Sure,” Bruce said carefully, maneuvering Peter into the room a fair bit before releasing his hand. Another door swished closed behind them and Peter frowned a little, the hair on the back of his neck standing on end.

“Mr. Stark?” He said nervously, gripping his hands into fist.

“Okay bambino,” Tony said softly. “I’m going to remove my hands now. I need you to not freak out on me okay? Can’t have Bruce going all green yeah?” He ignored the slightly hysterical huff from Bruce and removed his hands from Peter face.

Peter blinked for a moment before turning in a circle, the blood draining from his face. “What is this,” he asked, voice shaking, but he already knew the answer. He had seen this room before.

Back when Peter had first started coming to the compound he had been given a safety lecture and tour by Happy. He had memorized all the emergency codes, knew where the fire extinguishers were and how to work them, had his own pair of goggles and a lab coat in Tony’s shop for when he was making web fluid. The room he was in now he had seen only once before. Happy had brought him in and had shown him the impervious glass, the shutter proof floors had told him that “not even the Hulk could get out if he wanted to” and had said that this was where any enhanced who was unstable would be put just in case Peter ever apprehended anyone he would need to lock up here and not leave for the police.

“T-Tony,” Peter stuttered out, backing away until his back hit the wall and flinching. “What-?” But the ding of the elevator doors interrupted him and ejected May and Happy into the space outside of the bubble. Ice ran through his veins and Peter struggled not to give into his flight response and climb up to the ceiling. May was in on this.

“Steady there Underoos,” Tony said, holding up his hands in a gesture of peace. “This is just a precaution.”

“Against what?” Peter spat, anger replacing the ice as his head swirled and he struggled to keep standing.

“There’s something important we need to tell you baby,” May said through the speaker, pressing her hand against the glass and looking at him with pity. “We thought this would be the safest way to tell you and prevent you from running off.”

“Why would I run?” Peter asked, genuinely confused but not giving up his defensive position against the wall.

“Because you might not believe us,” May said hoarsely. “And if you run you might hurt yourself.” Peter sank to the floor, his legs too weak to hold him up anymore and ignored the cramp that was squeezing his shaking thigh muscles.

“What is it?”

“Peter,” May said, and then cleared her throat, making hard eye contact with him and saying firmly “there was no one in our apartment this morning.”

Peter blinked at her and his mind whirled to a stop, his jaw unhinging slightly as his heart rate picked up. “Yes there were,” he said a little desperately. “There were three people. And a dog. You said you were going to show them out… you… you…” he trailed off, eyes darting around to take in the pitying look on Tony and Bruce’s face.

“You’re hallucinating Petey,” May told him sadly. “Do you remember what you said before Happy picked us up?

“I was… I was asleep,” he looked at May pleadingly. “I was asleep right?”

“You kept talking to someone and – and when,” May convulsively swallowed before continuing, “when I asked who you were talking to you said Ben. Pete you thought you were fourteen and that Ben was still alive.”

“What?” Peter asked stricken. He didn’t even remember that. “What’s wrong with me?” He asked desperately and Bruce took that moment to slowly approach Peter and crouch down a few feet in front of him.

“We’re not sure yet,” Bruce told him, “but we’re going to find out okay?” Once Peter nodded Bruce continued. “I’d like to do everything up in the MedBay but we can stay here if you prefer, its up to you Pete, just let us know what you can handle.”

Peter looked around the cage one more time and felt dizzy and claustrophobic. “MedBay please.”

“Okay,” tony said, taking long strides over to Peter and picking him up off the floor before pulling him into a warm hug. “We’re going to figure this out kiddo, I promise.” Peter rested his heavy head on Mr. Stark’s shoulder and squeezed him back as the door swished open again.

* * *

“I think I have our answer,” Bruce said an hour or so later, a smile on his face as he entered Peter’s MedBay room and interrupted the competitive game of three-way Uno that was taking place on the end of Peter’s bed.

“Don’t keep us in suspense doc,” Tony said, tossing his hand face down on the bed and rotating to look at Bruce.

“First I have some questions Peter, is that okay?”

“Uh sure,” Peter said, placing his own cards down.

“I’m going to list some symptoms and I want you to tell me if they sound familiar,” Bruce said, looking down at the clipboard in his hands. “First off any nausea or vomiting?”

“Yes,” Peter responded thinking back to two nights ago when he had woken up in the middle of the night sick. May shot a glance at him but Peter avoided her eye contact; he had snuck around so she wouldn’t get worried.

“What about headaches or confusion?”

“Yes.”

“Fatigue? Muscle weakness? Muscle cramps?”

“Uh yeah actually,” Peter said. “That pretty much sums it up.”

Bruce nodded thoughtfully. “Okay last question. When was the last time you urinated?”

Peter spluttered and blushed. “Dude!” He complained but Bruce just waited patiently. Peter thought back and frowned. Last week he remembered that he had to stop almost every hour while patrolling to go even if nothing really came out, he remembered how much his bladder had just hurt and he thought that, maybe, he had just been drinking too much water. He hadn’t taken any on patrol with his this week. “Yesterday morning?”

“And your water intake?”

“Not great,” Peter mumbled, not looking at May or Tony but feeling twin burning looks of displeasure.

“I think that confirms it,” Bruce said with a nod. “You have hyponatremia.”

“What is that?” Peter asked as and understanding look filled May’s face.

“It means your sodium is low,” Bruce explained, flipping the clipboard around to show Peter his bloodwork results. “I’m guessing that you probably had a UTI recently and, between cutting back on your water intake and sweating so much out on patrol, you threw your electrolytes out of whack. Don’t worry though, its an easy fix,” Bruce said with a relieved smile. “I’m going to start you on a bag of Sodium Chloride and an injectable diuretic to replace the sodium your missing and get rid of any extra water build up. I’m going to limit any oral liquids for now. We’ll start with one bag and furosemide every four hours and recheck your electrolytes tonight.”

“That’s it?” Peter asked a little surprised.

“That’s it,” Dr. Banner confirmed with a smile. “I’m going to go get everything and I’ll be right back.”

“Guess I’m adding a new protocol to your suit,” Mr. Stark mused breaking the silence. “But what to name it?”

“Please nothing embarrassing,” Peter groaned, burying his face in a pillow as May giggled.

“Oh I think we earned this one kiddo,” She told him and Peter grinned. 

Maybe he could deal with it just this once.

**Author's Note:**

> So this is actually commonly seen in elderly people but can happen at all ages - neat huh? Well, terrifying but neat.
> 
> Generally, the subject will get extremely violent and have major delusions and try to hurt even the people closest to them. I didn’t want this to be 20,000 words so I cut out some of that but that’s why they put Peter in the bubble.
> 
> I don’t have a tumblr but join me over on Twitter @Hale1310 - I just set it up and I’m looking for some prompts to combine with these bingo prompts and for separate stories!
> 
> I hope you enjoyed!


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